My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. —Psalm 119:148 (NIV)

The Psalmist understood the danger of distractions. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, 9 people die every day as a result of accidents caused by distracted drivers! Distracted drivers are the leading cause of preventable accidents. It is a costly epidemic that continues to grab the headlines today! These drivers are mostly on their cell phones, but there are many other distractions. Even with the many laws and awareness campaigns that portray ghastly images of horrific accidents, many of us are still driving distracted!

The dictionary defines ‘distraction” as a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. Distracted people, therefore, have allowed a thing to prevent them from giving their full attention to something else.  Distracted people tend to live distracted lives. Whenever anyone is distracted, they are unable to focus and concentrate. Mistakes happen. Responsibilities get overlooked. Bad decisions are made. There is a danger in being distracted! 

Every Sunday, many of us struggle to focus on worship and everything going on during the worship service, myself included. Distracted worship is just one symptom of a distracted Christian probably living a distracted life. Many of us are mostly on our cell phones, but there are many other distractions…illnesses, financial concerns, problems with our children, our spouses, our jobs, and the list goes on! While it doesn’t seem nearly as deadly as distracted driving, I suspect God sees it more significantly than we might care to realize. The Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22:37 reminds us to love God with all of our heart and soul and MIND! God wants our undivided attention, and for good reason. Distracted Christians are not as effective as they should be! Distracted Christians are unable to focus and concentrate on God and the purposes God has given. They make mistakes, overlook responsibilities, and make bad decisions. Satan loves to distract us so we fall short of our purpose. There is no way to avoid all distractions, but we can definitely be more mindful of things that prevent us from giving God our full attention! 

Like distracted driving, distracted living is an avoidable epidemic. Scripture warns us of the consequences as Christians—against getting caught up in the cares of this world (Mark 4:19). There are many scriptures that warn us against distractions that keep us from doing what matters most. We must keep our focus on God and continue to trust Him. If we do this, we won’t be easily distracted. We’ll live more intentionally, and we’ll be more effective as Christians.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. —Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)